If you are in a growing church, sooner or later you will have to make a decision to have a service at a time other than Sunday morning. Knowing that my own mother questions my salvation because I like to attend my church’s Saturday night service, I will stray even further into the dark side by suggesting that there is another time that might also work. While Saturday nights has been very successful in many situations and will continue to be used as an alternative to Sunday, Monday night is another good option.
One of the big negatives of a Saturday night service is the toll it takes on the staff. Unless a church has an entirely different team for Saturday, the staff is called on to work another day. A Monday night service is much better in that regard. Monday is a work day for most staffs and thus to do a service on Monday night is much easier than Saturday night.
There is also an attendance advantage in a Monday night service. If a family goes out-of-town for the weekend, they will more than likely be gone Saturday and Sunday. However, most people have to be back for work on Monday. Therefore, they will be available for a Monday night service. If you live in an area where outdoor activities are big, Monday night could be an answer and a great tool.
Financially, there is a benefit as well. Since the vast majority of our people are not committed tithers, most non-tithers who give, give only when they attend. When they miss a weekend, they do not make that contribution up the next time they return. They simply give their regular amount. If they attend on a Monday night, they likely will give what they would have given on the Sunday. This service has the potential to be one of your highest per person giving services of the weekend if you lead your regular attenders to come on Monday if they miss the Sunday service.
It is very important that a Monday night service run on a tight time schedule and ends on time for those who have school age children. For those where children are not an issue, it can be a great opportunity to take an unchurched family or friend to dinner and then church.
My friend, Mark Evans, Sr. Pastor of The Church At Rock Creek in Little Rock, AR, (www.ChurchatRockCreek.com) has been doing Monday night church very successfully for several years. It is “another hook” in the water to reach the lost. While there are issues with every service time that will have to be worked out, Monday night may be one of the answers for your church.
Sorry Mom!
“In a pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”
I recently led the executives of 12 companies that make up the http://www.thePCCNetwork.com to read Mark Batterson’s “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”. This is a group of companies who are committed to serving the church. They are all laymen who are growing in their faith. Collectively they work with thousands of churches every day. We meet once a month for fellowship, accountability, and networking. Here are 4 insights they gained from the book.
1. Seize the Opportunity
” The book was excellent. It challenged me to seize the opportunities in front of me and know that God is with me, regardless of how big the challenge.” Vice-President, Church management Software Company
2. Embrace the Risk
” Wonderful confirmation of looking back in life and realizing that the biggest risks were the greatest opportunities. Through God’s prompting we can have confidence to step-out and do something outside of our comfort zone.”
Insurance Executive
3. Worship More, Complain Less
“Great message! It will help me worship more and complain less. It will also help me unlearn some fears knowing that not all my experiences will make sense at first.”
Insurance Executive
4. Value of the Lion Experience
“Amazing insights! Mark points out one of the Devil’s tools to hinder our effectiveness is to place doubt and fear in our lives. However, when you have faced a lion in your life and chased him into a snowy pit, you have a “lion experience”. When you point Satan to this experience, he fades back into the pit realizing his fear tactics will no longer work on you.”
President, Church Marketing Company
Thank You
“Right on Message for today’s issues. Right on message for me personally. Thank you for the perspective.”
Owner and CEO, Church Construction Company
If you haven’t read it, read it. If you want to challenge a group of leaders, “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” is a great tool.
Confronting Confrontation
An important part of every leader’s job responsibilities is confrontation. It is often one of the least favorite duties. As a matter of fact, I would say that it is one of the most neglected aspects of leadership in many churches. There are many forms of confrontation that are necessary in church life. Confrontation that deals with moral issues is unique unto themselves and we will deal with those at another time. Here we will deal specifically with job performance of both staff and volunteers.
A leader who is not honest about job performance with his staff and key volunteers will suffer the consequences of poor performance and mediocrity in all aspects of ministry. It is unfair to the staff member or volunteer if the first time he or she is held accountable for poor performance is when they are being relieved of their jobs. This lack of accountability can also cause a church to loose a good staff member or volunteer who simply needs direction.
Here are some guidelines for confronting your team about poor job performance.
1. Be a good match maker. Don’t hire someone to do a job if it is obvious that they are not the right person for the job. Don’t talk a volunteer into taking a job that they are not equipped to do. While sometimes you have to think “outside the box” to fill a position, be realistic. If you enlist someone to do a job and you have questions about the fit, set an appointed time to sit down with the person to evaluate the fit. This is difficult when it involves hiring someone, but works well in recruiting volunteers.
2. Don’t delay. From the very beginning be honest with a new staff member or volunteer. Don’t let them live under the false assumption that they are achieving their objective. You are only hurting the person by allowing them to live under that false impression.
3. Document. Documentation is vital in two ways. First, document specific examples of short comings so that when you meet with the person you can be clear with them about their performance. They will ask you for specifics. Be prepared. Second, document your “job performance meetings” with all your staff. Depending on the state laws in the state where you live, this may be essential if your terminate an employee. Regardless of that, for your own records, you need to document your meetings, the evaluations you give, and the instruction and suggestions you give for improvement. This documentation will be important for you and your board in the event there is congregational unrest.
4. Stay Focused. When confronting a staff member or volunteer, staff focused on the real issues. Don’t allow the person you are confronting to change the subject or take control of the conversation. Be prepared for the meeting. Set the agenda before the meeting and have good notes to follow. Don’t leave the meeting with important issues still unresolved. Make certain the person is clear on expectations, suggestions, assignments, and the timetable for future evaluation meetings.
5. Have a pre-determined plan. Before you go into the meeting, have at least one plan. I say “at least one” because your response may be based on their response, depending on how many times you have already dealt with this specific issue. If this is the first confrontation, have a plan that will help the person improve their performance. If this is “another” meeting, you may need to have several responses depending on their attitude. If this is a “final” meeting and you have made the decision to terminate, know the exit strategy such as timing and severance package if it is a paid position. Always be redemptive! If it is a volunteer, know the redemptive process or the re-assignment procedure. Remember, everyone is a “10” somewhere. Our job is help our people find their place of service.
When the Senior Pastor Doesn’t Lead
Few things can be more devastating to a church than when the Sr. Pastor does not lead. This can be because the church does not allow him to lead or because he is incapable of or unwilling to lead. Either way, the results are the same. While the ramifications are endless, here are 5 that will cripple a church.
1. There is a lack of vision. One of the Sr. Pastor’s most important responsibilities is to seek, receive, and cast God’s vision for the church. When the Pastor does not effectively present the vision God has for the church, multiple substitute visions develop from the agendas of well meaning members. A vision will usually emerge but it will be blurry, short-sighted, and ineffective. Anytime Satan can get God’s church to settle for less than His perfect will, he has succeeded.
2. The staff is ineffective. If the designated leader does not lead, those meant to be led will compete for the leadership position. A leader will usually emerge from the non-leaders who may or may not be effective. Worst yet, multiple leaders will compete for a following. The result will be confusion, in-fighting, and wasted energy.
3. The church’s priorities constantly change. If there is no leader to set the priorities, the church’s priorities will always reflect the latest best selling book, most popular conference, or the church who won the latest growth award. The result will be that the congregation will be confused and recruiting volunteers and lay leadership will be a major challenge.
4. The Pastor’s critics are fueled. Critics are silenced, not by verbal responses but by effective leadership. In the absence of strong leadership, criticism is given more credence than it deserves and the weak are easily led by the highly critical. Any pastor who vacates the position of leadership opens his church to the influence of those critical of the vision God has put before them.
5. High capacity volunteers disappear or won’t commit. High capacity volunteers demand a strong leader. They simply will not commit to a weak leader. When a high capacity volunteer finds the leader he has committed to has become weak, they simply disappear. They will find a leader to follow who will maximize the return on their volunteer time. They want to be effective in the time they give to any organization and that is impossible without a strong leader.
If you are a Senior Pastor–lead. Lead in the areas that you must and empower your staff to lead in the areas you can entrust to them. Be consistent in your leadership and supportive of your staff as they lead. Never allow your church to be in doubt as to who is leading. Like many other churches, they will perish without a leader!
The D-Now Miracle
This week-end we hosted 11 6th grade girls and their leader for a disciple now weekend in our home. Having been in Student Ministry for over 25 years, we love students of all sizes and shapes, even 6th grade girls. As we approached the weekend, the church called to let us know that one of the college leaders would not be able to make it because of staph infection. We would only have one leader.
The leader that would be leading the group in our home was relatively new to student ministry. She was a young lady who had struggled in school. As a matter of fact the doctors had originally told her parents that she might not even be able to attend school. She had had over 18 surgeries, numerous illnesses, and had not spoken until she was 3, and then only thru hours of speech therapy. Life seemed to be a constant struggle and now college was proving to be even harder.
My wife and I wondered if she would be able to handle this, or would we have to step in to ensure the girls had a good experience. Why had the church not assigned someone else to step in and help? The thought of having to handle the discipline of 11 6th grade girls for the weekend was not appealing.
As we began to watch this college student take charge and lead the weekend, our fears had no foundation. I sat outside the room where see was leading the session and realized I would not have much to do this weekend. She had it under control. The girls respected her and responded to her. It was more than OK. It was very good.
What makes this special for us is that we were there when the doctors told us she might never walk or talk and or be able to attend school. My wife, Cindy, took her to hour after hour of therapy and would not believe the doctors when they said “she can’t do this”. She spent 2-3 hours every night of her school life helping her learn the material.
This leader was our 22 year old daughter, Brittany. The doctors forgot to tell her a lot of things that she would not be able to do. She recently told me that she thought God was calling her into student ministry. He will make that calling clear to her, but one thing is clear to us. The ministry she has had in our lives has been amazing!
4 KEYS TO FIRST IMPRESSION EXCELLENCE
Vision
“Where there is not vision, the people perish.” Prov. 29:18 KJV
Each “First Impression Team” volunteer is a link in the chain of someone coming to Christ!Excellence. As a leader, you have got to lead your team to catch the vision that God has given your church. Each volunteer must see what they do on weekends as helping to accomplish the vision. Just as the worship pastor and the Sr.pastor have responsibilities in the services they are vital to people coming to Christ, so do your volunteers. You realize this–but do your volunteers? Their understanding and “buy-in” of your vision is essential to seeing it accomplished.
Excellence
“Serve wholeheartedly, as unto the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does.” Eph. 6:7-8 NIV
As leaders, we set the pace. If we want our volunteers to serve with excellence, we must serve them with the same excellence. The training we offer to prepare them to serve must be done with excellence. If we cut corners in how we do our presentations, training manuals, and appreciation events, we send the wrong message. We cannot hold them to a high standard without accountability. The fear of loosing a volunteer can’t keep us from calling every team member to serve with excellence. A volunteer who is out of step with the standard that is set for your team can cost your church the opportunity to reach hundreds of guest who simply do not return because they were not properly received.
Attitude
“Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ who, though He was God, did not demand and cling to His rights as God, but laid aside His mighty power and Glory, taking on the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.” Phil. 2:5-7 TLB
When people volunteer, we have an incredible opportunity to speak into their lives in many areas. One of those areas is their attitude. Let’s face it: People we deal with at church don’t always have a Christ like attitude. Whether it is a person in the parking lot determined to park where he wants to regardless of the direction of the parkers or a mother with a crying baby who refuses to leave the worship service, we have a great opportunity to work on our attitudes and to teach our volunteers as well. A former pastor of mine taught us, “People act like they act because they are where they are with the Lord.” That positive attitude is so contagious to guest.
Leadership
“…so He got up from His meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” John 13:4-5 NIV
If we want our lay leaders to be servant leaders, we must lead them by serving them. We reproduce after our own kind. They will catch it quicker from example than they will learn it through the best lecture. Not only will a servant make a good volunteer, your volunteers can penetrate your entire congregation with a servant heart that is contagious.
Lamar Slay's Blog 